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M.J. Evans

The Stone of Wisdom

Synopsis

"This is good guys versus bad guys at its finest." Readers' Favorite, "Action-packed, riveting, and steeped in the atmosphere so carefully built in prior books in the series." Midwest Book Reviews, "An impeccable YA fantasy read." Readers' Favorite. "The Stone of Wisdom" is the final book of "The Centaur Chronicles, the epic saga that will captivate YA and adult who love Tolkien-like settings and characters. Carling, the half Fairy/half Human teenager who is to inherit the throne of Crystonia, must complete the Silver Breastplate to be worthy to be the queen. But an evil Wizard named Xanbar has returned to claim the throne for himself and is amassing a vicious army of Centaurs, Ogres and Cyclops to help him do it.

Author Biography

I am a wife, a mom and a grandmother. I am also a competitive equestrian and award-winning author. I especially love to write about horses, both real or fantasy. In 2016, I released, "In the Heart of a Mustang." This story is not a fantasy but it is all about horses. This coming of age young adult novel has won the 2016 Gold Medal from the Literary Classics Awards in Young Adult General Fiction and the Silver Medal in the Nautilus Awards as well as the Silver Medal from Readers Favorite Awards.
My current project is a four-part series titled “The Centaur Chronicles”. I am excited about this new middle-grade fantasy. The first book, “The Stone of Mercy,” was released on Oct. 1, 2016. It has already garnered several awards including the Gold Medal from the Feathered Quill awards. The second, “The Stone of Courage,” was released on April 15, 2017 and has won a Book Excellence Award.
Please visit my website: http://www.dancinghorsepress.com

Author Insight

Reminding the Reader

HOORAY! "The Stone of Wisdom" is out, completing "The Centaur Chronicles." I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
As I mentioned in a bubble for "The Stone of Integrity," when writing a series, the author must include some backstory to remind the readers about the plot and characters that were revealed in previous books. Because Zarius plays a big role, I decided to start the fourth book with him. You will notice that I reminded the reader of his appearance as well as his personality on the very first page of the book. Enjoy!

Book Excerpt

The Stone of Wisdom

“I’m sorry, sir,” the voice behind the door said, quivering. “I was sent to awaken you. A contingent of soldiers has just returned from Madiera. They found the girl with the Silver Breastplate.”

Zarius threw back his blanket, unfolded his four, long legs, and set his hooves on the floorboards with a clang. “Gather my generals. I will meet with them in the council chambers immediately,” he said with excitement. “And have the soldiers bring the Duende girl.”

“Um-m-m…they don’t have her with them, s-sir,” the messenger said. Now his voice was really trembling.

The door flew open and Zarius’s large, black body filled the frame. His black and silver shirt was only half covering his human chest. His greasy, black hair was falling across his face. “What do you mean, they don’t have her?” he growled, his steely eyes piercing the young colt.

“Sh-she got away, sir,” the Centaur colt said, backing up until his haunches rammed into the rough boards on the opposite wall. Feeling a splinter pierce his backside, the soldier cried out in pain and leaped to the left.

Zarius reared up on his hind legs, pawed the air and rammed a fist though the door. “Incompetence! I am surrounded by incompetence,” he yelled. Lowering his front hooves back to the floor, he narrowed his eyes and pointed a long, bony finger at the quivering colt. “Gather my generals, now!”

The colt spun on his haunches and galloped down the narrow hall and around a corner, leaving Zarius alone to savor his anger. The Centaur commander pushed his hair out of his eyes and jerked his shirt over his shoulder, shoving his arm through the black sleeve. He pawed the ground with a front hoof. “How does that little girl always succeed in slipping away from me?” he growled.